Florida's Silviculture Best Management Practices

Florida's Best Management Practices (BMPs) for silviculture operations are the minimum standards necessary for protecting and maintaining the State's water quality as well as some wildlife habitat values while conducting forestry activities. They represent a balance between overall natural resource protection and use.

BMPs were developed by the Florida Forest Service (FFS) specifically for silviculture and are intended to be applied on all such operations. These practices are not intended for use during tree removal or land clearing operations associated with residential or commercial development, or other activities with non-forestry objectives.

The BMPs were first established in the mid 1970s in response to the Federal Clean Water Act of 1972. The original BMPs were designed exclusively to protect Florida's streams and lakes from potential sources of pollution associated with forestry activities.

The latest version of Florida's BMPs is available on-line on the FFS Forest Hydrology Web page: